Cat Power — "You Are Free

Rebekah Martinez

Published 6:00 pm, Thursday, March 6, 2003

You Are Free" earmarks Marshall's notorious shyness and uses it to thread a violent honesty to the 14 alt folk tracks. Marshall, the sole member of Cat Power, fleshes out the signature starkness of her tunes with a splatter of

drums by Dave Grohl and vocal/violin contributions by Eddie Vedder and still her songs litter sorrow in simplicity. Edgy, sodden diatribes on celebrity and love bolster the minimal structures. Songs like opener "I Don't Blame

You" transfix the clarity of pain with bare vocals and roaming pianos while the soulful brilliance in Michael Hurley cover "Werewolf," the aggressive, tender alto in "Shaking Paper," and the multi track, highly original "Speak

for Me" burns holes in the deepest conscience. She's evolved much since utterly despondent debut "Moon Pix" and 2000s hushed "Covers Record" with an album graceful beyond belief and so pretty it hurts.